Deployments are not all they are cracked up to be. Sleeping in tents/trailers, sand everywhere, no real escape for months on end, missing holidays, etc.
~~~ I get the gung ho attitude, but I think you have created an illusion.
JMPO as a spouse that watched her DH and our friends go from the I can't wait to be deployed to...I'm being deployed again. One of our friends said it the best...I filled that square and I will be happy to never fill it again.
The only negative I see about the RPA life is from a PCS POV. Bullet and I loved moving every few years. Didn't love the packing and unpacking, but loved living in new places. The Strike had 4 bases when we entered, and he x-trained from the 111. Basically if he never stepped out of the jet he could have never done a duplicate PCS. Whereas, for the RPAs you could see yourself rotating between two bases unless you step out or strain (PME in residence, Pentagon}
Haven't been at OMG NO AlAMOGORDO for decades, but as a city girl I am not sure it would not drive me stir crazy even today.
You also need to understand, that if they give you a CSO slot and you still want to parlay it into a pilot slot, you probably will have to wait a couple more years compared to an RPA pilot. UNT is @1 yr, than you do land and water, and FTU for your airframe. It takes can take 2 years just to get to your Operational base, plus add on getting MQ. You will than need to make a name for yourself at the base. Assume 6-9 months. That can put you at 3+ years if everything is aligned.
~~~ You are ROTC, talk to the CoC says about the pipelines. Our friend went to IFS in Oct. He was suppose to starts UNT in Dec. It was pushed back to Jan., than to Feb. He was casual for 4 months.